Abduction (01/17/2012)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense violence and action, brief language, some sexual content and teen partying.

Starring Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Maria Bello and Sigourney Weaver

Directed by John Singleton (Shaft and Four Brothers)

The only thing I liked about Abduction…was seeing downtown Pittsburgh.

For as long as he can remember, Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner) has had the uneasy feeling that he’s living someone else’s life. When he stumbles upon an image of himself as a little boy on a missing persons website, all of Nathan’s darkest fears come true: he realizes his parents are not his own and his life is a lie, carefully fabricated to hide something more mysterious and dangerous than he could have ever imagined. Just as he begins to piece together his true identity, Nathan is targeted by a team of trained killers, forcing him on the run with the only person he can trust, his neighbor, Karen (Lily Collins). Every second counts as Nathan and Karen race to evade an army of assassins and federal operatives. But as his opponents close in, Nathan realizes that the only way he’ll survive – and solve the mystery of his elusive biological father – is to stop running and take matters into his own hands.

Okay, sadly the film opens with some bad behavior where we see Nathan (Taylor) and a bunch of his friends driving down the road with Nathan riding on the hood of the car. Not the best idea. We see his friends all laughing and carrying on – which is exactly what the filmmakers think teenagers would be doing if they have a friend dumb enough to do that. The very next scene we see them all at a party – again they are yelling, laughing and drinking a lot – enough to get Nathan so drunk he wakes up the next day on the front lawn…shirtless. Big surprise! Great way to start a movie that is targeted at a teenage audience.

Okay, let’s talk actors. I’m not the biggest fan of the Twilight movies and when it comes to Team Jacob or Team Edward…I could care less. But to see the stars of those films in other movies is just “more of the same.” Once again Taylor Lautner’s acting seems to be more about how many times he can take his shirt off and less about if he can deliver a quality performance. The rest of the cast is average at best…except for Sigourney Weaver who totally mails it in – especially in the second to last scene of the film.

The last scene was actually my least favorite scene…and that’s saying something because so many scenes were bad. But in the final scene we see Taylor and his girlfriend in PNC Park in Pittsburgh saying “that was one pretty exciting first date” – TOTAL CHEESE!

John Singleton has in the past directed several decent films…what was he thinking here??

And finally there is the story itself. While this story may appeal to some teenagers who are dealing with identity issues or relationships, it’s so outrageous and ridiculous that it made the whole thing just fall apart for me. It’s a Coaster.

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
There is no sex or nudity in this PG-13 teen movie, and the F-word is used once. The beginning scene is a bunch of teens partying (drinking, smoking and playing Beer Pong). There are a few intense scenes…like when Nathan’s parents are murdered, his house blows up, he is chased, and when everyone is shot outside the diner. Oh, and Nathan (Taylor Lautner) takes his shirt off a bunch of times…shocker.

Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):

Q: What’s the message/theme of this movie?
A: Nathan Harper discovers he is not who he has been told he is. Imagine how unsettling that would be to discover your identity was a lie. He questions who he really is and who his family is.

Do you think being in a different family would make you a different person? How so?

Q: How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
A: Well it should remind us that we too have two families…our physical family and our spiritual family.

Who is in your physical family? What are the relationships like?

Take a minute to read Ephesians 6:1-4: Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

What does God tell us about how to live within that physical family?

Who is in your spiritual family? What are the relationships like?

Take a minute to read John 13:34-35: So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.

What does God tell us about how to live within that spiritual family?

Q: How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
A: Let’s take a few minutes to be honest… there are things we all do that actually hurt our families. What are some of those things?

What are some things we can do this week to live better with our physical families?

What are some things we can do this week to live better with our spiritual families?

Give a few examples of each.